Back from Georgia and what a day!!!!!
As I wrote the last time I was on my way to Georgia to go trout fishing for the first time. Let me just say that I was in for an incredible day plus a great learning experience!
It all starts with a cool and foggy morning in the Blue Ridge mountains of Georgia. We arrived at Black Hawk Fly Fishing, who are the owners and outfitters of the section of the Soque river that we would be fishing. 7:30 AM I meet my guide Andy and the owners John and Abby. Being a salt water fly angler I really had no idea of what to expect or do so I asked Abby to set me up, the works! The works meant that this Bonefish guide was up to his chest in waders, felt bottom boots to fit a giant ,had a small box of flies I'd only heard of and never seen(Cadis,Prince Nymphs,Wooly Buggers and such)and a six weight rod with a strike indicator and a tandem rig. The tandem rig was a pink worm and a weighted Cadis on the bottom. I don't know if the strike indicator is for rookies but what I do know is that without it I would have missed an even higher amount of fish.
Andy goes over the game plan with me and we head towards the river. Andy was a Tarpon guide in the Keys for many years, so we hit it off instantly. It was obvious that his knowledge of Trout was as if not more extensive to his knowledge of Tarpon. Once in the river and the 63 degree water was runnig past my waders I knew the game was on! The game was opposite to everything we do in salt water,obviously, but I mean more to striking the fish. That was the first lesson,watching that indicator and striking the fish,no room for error. I learned that one quickly. I had told myself that if I left the river with 6-8 Trout and possibly one close to 18 inches I'd be happy,I'd be happy anyway but you all know what I mean. How little did I know about Trout fishing in Georgia and the kind of day I would have!
After some trial and plenty of errors with the hook setting I manged to land a few in the 12-14 inch range. Then I saw it,strike indicator down and a large boil under it, the one I had read were out here! I couldn't tell exactly the size but knew it was big. After a good battle we finally got it in the net and it was all of a 24 inch Rainbow Trout! Quick picture with the beauty and off she went head first to the oncoming river. The rest of the morning was filled with non-stop action with many fish from 14-20 inches and we capped it of with another 24 inch Rainbow. The total for the morning was 30 fish!
After a quick and appetizing lunch we headed back to another section of the river. Andy was telling me during lunch that it might slow down in the afternoon due to water temperature and clarity.To his surprise and my delight we picked up right where we left off. Cought 15 back to back in the first stretch we fished. I forgot to mention that we had turned trout fishing to a spectator sport, my nephew Nick and my father Alex wer both watching from the river bank and and were keeping track of all the fish we cought,hence the numbers.Boy what a long day it would have been for them had the fishing not been out of this world. And it was, because in the afternon we cought many more 18-20 inchers plus a 25 and my last fish of the day was a whoping 27 inch long Rainbow.The tally for the afternoon was 31 for a total of 61 for the day!!!!
This day was definately one of the best days of fishing I ever had.I know the trophy fish are those 24 and up but my best battles were all those in the 18-20 inch range.I was amazed by their strength and stamina and how they would figtht not only me but running river. The strength and absolute beauty of these fish is something that I will never forget. Many thanks to Abby for setting me up and many more to Andy whos knowledge of Trout was the key to the day we had.
It all starts with a cool and foggy morning in the Blue Ridge mountains of Georgia. We arrived at Black Hawk Fly Fishing, who are the owners and outfitters of the section of the Soque river that we would be fishing. 7:30 AM I meet my guide Andy and the owners John and Abby. Being a salt water fly angler I really had no idea of what to expect or do so I asked Abby to set me up, the works! The works meant that this Bonefish guide was up to his chest in waders, felt bottom boots to fit a giant ,had a small box of flies I'd only heard of and never seen(Cadis,Prince Nymphs,Wooly Buggers and such)and a six weight rod with a strike indicator and a tandem rig. The tandem rig was a pink worm and a weighted Cadis on the bottom. I don't know if the strike indicator is for rookies but what I do know is that without it I would have missed an even higher amount of fish.
Andy goes over the game plan with me and we head towards the river. Andy was a Tarpon guide in the Keys for many years, so we hit it off instantly. It was obvious that his knowledge of Trout was as if not more extensive to his knowledge of Tarpon. Once in the river and the 63 degree water was runnig past my waders I knew the game was on! The game was opposite to everything we do in salt water,obviously, but I mean more to striking the fish. That was the first lesson,watching that indicator and striking the fish,no room for error. I learned that one quickly. I had told myself that if I left the river with 6-8 Trout and possibly one close to 18 inches I'd be happy,I'd be happy anyway but you all know what I mean. How little did I know about Trout fishing in Georgia and the kind of day I would have!
After some trial and plenty of errors with the hook setting I manged to land a few in the 12-14 inch range. Then I saw it,strike indicator down and a large boil under it, the one I had read were out here! I couldn't tell exactly the size but knew it was big. After a good battle we finally got it in the net and it was all of a 24 inch Rainbow Trout! Quick picture with the beauty and off she went head first to the oncoming river. The rest of the morning was filled with non-stop action with many fish from 14-20 inches and we capped it of with another 24 inch Rainbow. The total for the morning was 30 fish!
After a quick and appetizing lunch we headed back to another section of the river. Andy was telling me during lunch that it might slow down in the afternoon due to water temperature and clarity.To his surprise and my delight we picked up right where we left off. Cought 15 back to back in the first stretch we fished. I forgot to mention that we had turned trout fishing to a spectator sport, my nephew Nick and my father Alex wer both watching from the river bank and and were keeping track of all the fish we cought,hence the numbers.Boy what a long day it would have been for them had the fishing not been out of this world. And it was, because in the afternon we cought many more 18-20 inchers plus a 25 and my last fish of the day was a whoping 27 inch long Rainbow.The tally for the afternoon was 31 for a total of 61 for the day!!!!
This day was definately one of the best days of fishing I ever had.I know the trophy fish are those 24 and up but my best battles were all those in the 18-20 inch range.I was amazed by their strength and stamina and how they would figtht not only me but running river. The strength and absolute beauty of these fish is something that I will never forget. Many thanks to Abby for setting me up and many more to Andy whos knowledge of Trout was the key to the day we had.
2 Comments:
Mera Franco..es Luis Balzac...eres un caballo. Que trabajito compai.
I've been checking out your site and blog and envy your travels and experience here in Puerto Rico. I will fish with you in the future. We're in San Juan and keep a beachhouse in Punta Santiago. I've been frustrated with fishing here in Puerto Rico, sick of deep sea trolling and looking for something different. I've only fly fished once but it was for Tiger fish in the Zambezi. I didn't catch anything although my wife snagged a small one. I had my eye on the crocs and hippos. I'll be in touch.
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